From defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni coaching Harold Landry at Boston College to defensive line coach Bo Davis mentoring Marcus Davenport at UTSA, it seemed like these dots were being connected from the second the Lions’ regular season ended.

But Davis’s connection to Hand, whom he recruited to Alabama to begin with, didn’t get quite as much attention—but ended up being pivotal for both men, and for the Lions.

“When I picked up the phone, man, I’d seen the Detroit number, man. I picked up and it was just like a movie,” Hand told Atkins. “With Coach Bo (Davis) there, I know they’ve got a kind of similar scheme like Alabama did. It’s just a whole bunch of dogs, so I’m just ready to be a part of that unit.”

Now it’s on Davis to unlock the first-round potential in Hand’s elite physical tools, and up to Hand to produce in the NFL in the way he didn’t always in college.

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